Interesting article from the Global CFO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited. He discusses the results of his firm’s survey regarding what Millennials (born January 1983 and forward) want to be when they grow up. It provides good insight as to what motivates this generation.
Category Archives: For Clients
How to Reinvent Yourself After 50
I serve on a Task Force that was assembled to address the issues related to “experienced” individuals (over the age of 55) who are seeking career advancement, placement and fulfillment as well as the increased demand by employers for qualified candidates. A fellow member of this Task Force emailed this Harvard Business Review article to me and I, in turn thought it was very worthwhile to share here.
Time For Talent Management
“Time for employee evaluations – again – oh this will be painful!” I know I’ve heard that comment, heck I’ve made that comment! No one looks forward to this process; it almost never goes as you would like whether you are reviewing or being reviewed.
Owners and managers console themselves by believing all employees care about is the “money” part of the review. But were you prepared to offer them any concrete feedback on performance and where they need to focus their development efforts? Was the salary increase and bonus the only specific feedback you had to offer? One of the keys to an effective review program (one that fosters employee development, motivation and retention) is no different than any other mission critical business activity – Planning!
At annual review time it is important to gather information from various sources – the observations file you should have been keeping all year, internal performance measurement systems, and industry/professional association compensation data.
Now for something new in your preparation – talk to those you trust to recruit new talent to your organization. No one knows better what the keys are to keeping top talent.
If your organization is fortunate enough to have a dedicated Director of Talent Acquisition shouldn’t they really be your Director of Talent Management and be involved in acquiring AND developing that talent. Many Human Resources Professionals are expected to be generalists and they engage a recruiter for specific talent acquisitions. Encourage them to have the type of recruiter relationship that adds value to your talent development and retention efforts as well.
The High Cost Of Hiring Badly
John Brandon writes on employment issues for Inc magazine and a recent column quantifies the exorbitant cost of making a bad hiring decision. Sometimes the hiring manager is overly impressed in an initial interview, sometimes a position needs to be filled so quickly that normal processes are suspended, or sometimes it is just a desire to move on other pressing matters. Whatever the reason(s), the resulting decision that “didn’t work out” can cost your company nearly a quarter-million dollars for even a mid-level mistake! Add in factors such as legal fees, severance pay, and/or outplacement services and the cost is over $800,000. If this is scary, read this article and slow down just a bit! Following a process that yields the best quality candidate is a sure way to get what you need AND save money in the long-run.
Perseverance – Another Perspective
Each one of us individually and our businesses as a collective has persevered during perhaps the worst economic period we will ever see in our working careers. Individually we all have a story to tell which I’m certain is compelling. Please click on this link to read what I believe is perhaps the most compelling story I have read in a very long time about personal perseverance.
You will see that the article is from the Summer 2013 issue of the Western Golf Association, Evans Scholars Magazine. Please click on the links above the article to learn more about how you can make more of these amazing stories of perseverance possible.
Are You A Free Radical?
Scott Belsky is an entrepreneur and best-selling author who founded the online creative platform Behance, which he recently sold to Adobe. He is a much sought after speaker on the emerging patterns of work in the 21st century, and this article is an excerpt from his foreward to a new book, Maximize Your Potential. Belsky says that “free radicals” demand a lot of themselves AND their employers, expect their skills to be fully utilized, abhor ‘easy jobs’, and have little tolerance for bureaucratic friction or old-boy networks. With the increasing exit of baby-boomers from the workplace – and with it, the demise of “we always did it this way” mindsets – employers should be asking themselves important questions. Are you a free radical? Can you accommodate free radicals in your workplace? If not now, when? What advantages could be gained from embracing more free radicals? Belsky believes that free radicals are already changing the face of work and jobs, and organizations will foster dramatic innovation by accelerating their contributions. The Free Radical At Work is a worthwhile read.
Best Companies to work for…SAP Users
As Recruiters we are always asked about who are the best companies…And so I just found an announcement that might be helpful for those candidates looking for career opportunities in The Utilities Industry…SAP AG has just published it’s list of award winning Utilities for 2013. The list includes First Energy, Atmos Energy, Puget Sound Energy, and Centerpoint Energy. SAP AG says that these are the best-run Utilities because they have implemented innovative and sustainable practices based on SAP Software.
Making Sense with SAP!
Have always enjoyed people who seem to understand the sense around IT Technology. Just read a comment by Jonathan Becher, Chief Marketing Officer at SAP who said…”I’m also championing SAP’s strategy of helping organizations close the gap between strategy & execution so that they can optimize business performance.” And I say BRAVO Johnathan! Keep up the good work and tell us more about closing this gap!
From My Perspective: Vacation – How Was It?
In the May 2013 edition of From My Perspective the question was – “are you actually going to take a vacation or will you just be working away from the office?”
So how did you do? Successful at not taking calls from the office? How many work e-mails did you respond to while on vacation? When you didn’t take the call or respond to the email did you feel compelled to respond if they texted?
My scorecard: Very well. Surprisingly, yes. Zero, really! Absolutely, just couldn’t stop myself. I didn’t get a full week away from the office as we had to fit in trips for two college graduations (woo hoo!) and a week of Girl Scout Camp for my wife and two daughters so maybe my test was a little easier. Shorter time away than I would have liked but I did return feeling genuinely recharged.
So with the family vacation season behind us perhaps I can at least get better at not checking email on the Blackberry every time a new one arrives. Or maybe at least not checking it while with others, I don’t know, maybe? The real test for me is with September baseball in full swing and playoff positions hanging in the balance can I stop checking MLB.COM while with my family and friends? Go REDS!
Bad Hires Can Ruin A Good Strategy
Lou Adler is a New York Times best-selling author of such books as Hire With Your Head and The Essential Guide To Hiring And Getting Hired. Adler believes that there are really only four (yes, 4!) jobs in any business and only four (there it is again) types of corporate strategies. I’ll admit skepticism… until I read this article. Adler makes a compelling case for getting the right matches and understanding their various roles in order to propel your corporate performance to new heights. Read How Bad Hiring Decisions Can Mess Up A Good Business Strategy to avoid the path to mediocrity… or worse.